I bought the game two weeks ago. Today Horizons was announced. When I bought the game Reddit (the place I do most of my E-D discussion) was in uproar over the state of Powerplay. This was my exact comment on their complaints:
Yea, game communities turn toxic on their developers really quickly when updates are released that are generally not fun. In a way, the toxicity makes sense:
The first point is, by far, the most important. Power Play, apparently, did not come as an idea from the playerbase. That means the responsibility for it being fun or not rests solely on the shoulders of the devs. Convincing the devs that their ideas are not fun and they should listen to you is extremely hard, normally. Believe me, I've been on both sides of the fence. The devs are very prone to saying "Well you, I think it's awesome!" and sticking their head in the sand because they lose sight of what they (should have) set out to do: make something other people find fun, even if they don't.
Where the message gets lost is when the devs implement mechanics they find fun, and not many other people do. That's where you get into a downward spiral until the devs can be convinced their ideas aren't great.
Am I saying Frontier is in a downward spiral? No. I'm talking about past experiences I've been a part of not related to E-D. But, the framework and order of events remains unchanged. It is reasonable to express disgust with bad updates, but you must understand why you are expressing your disgust and communicate your annoyance clearly. If the devs do not respond rationally, then it is time to abandon ship because few things will convince people that thick-headed that they are wrong.
So, given the Horizons announcement, what do I see? I see a game that has been out for less than a year saying "We'll double our game Christmas this year...if you give us $60!". But no one anywhere believes you're actually doubling the content. Why do I say doubling? Because you're charging the same prices as the original game cost. I don't care what you *think* that means, it objectively means you are selling something that is equivalent to a duplicate game.
So what is my request? Stop.making.bad.updates.
You have a great framework for a game. I bought a really solid HOTAS setup because the flight model is so compelling. Bounty hunting in RES is quite fun. The vulture is a great ship. I haven't tried exploring yet and have been waiting for the HTC vive before I do so. Trading will probably be really fun once you get an EVE style supply and demand economy.
I understand you are a company and you need to make money. The problem is that you aren't delivering a value to me and many other people that is worth the price you are asking. I don't care what you think it's worth, it matters what *we* think it's worth. It's the exact same problem as bad updates; your opinion is irrelevant, ours is literally the only one that matters.
This is me asking very nicely for you to realize you are on the wrong road, and fix it. In the mean time, I'll keep flying my vulture and waiting for the Vive to come out. The game itself is actually fun at the most basic level. It needs a LOT of work to be properly fun, but you have a good base. Just...improve upon that.
Yea, game communities turn toxic on their developers really quickly when updates are released that are generally not fun. In a way, the toxicity makes sense:
- A bad update shows the dev's ideas of fun are not fun, and the outcrying should educate the devs that their ideas of what is fun are wrong.
- A bad update takes time away from good ideas.
The first point is, by far, the most important. Power Play, apparently, did not come as an idea from the playerbase. That means the responsibility for it being fun or not rests solely on the shoulders of the devs. Convincing the devs that their ideas are not fun and they should listen to you is extremely hard, normally. Believe me, I've been on both sides of the fence. The devs are very prone to saying "Well you, I think it's awesome!" and sticking their head in the sand because they lose sight of what they (should have) set out to do: make something other people find fun, even if they don't.
Where the message gets lost is when the devs implement mechanics they find fun, and not many other people do. That's where you get into a downward spiral until the devs can be convinced their ideas aren't great.
Am I saying Frontier is in a downward spiral? No. I'm talking about past experiences I've been a part of not related to E-D. But, the framework and order of events remains unchanged. It is reasonable to express disgust with bad updates, but you must understand why you are expressing your disgust and communicate your annoyance clearly. If the devs do not respond rationally, then it is time to abandon ship because few things will convince people that thick-headed that they are wrong.
So, given the Horizons announcement, what do I see? I see a game that has been out for less than a year saying "We'll double our game Christmas this year...if you give us $60!". But no one anywhere believes you're actually doubling the content. Why do I say doubling? Because you're charging the same prices as the original game cost. I don't care what you *think* that means, it objectively means you are selling something that is equivalent to a duplicate game.
So what is my request? Stop.making.bad.updates.
You have a great framework for a game. I bought a really solid HOTAS setup because the flight model is so compelling. Bounty hunting in RES is quite fun. The vulture is a great ship. I haven't tried exploring yet and have been waiting for the HTC vive before I do so. Trading will probably be really fun once you get an EVE style supply and demand economy.
I understand you are a company and you need to make money. The problem is that you aren't delivering a value to me and many other people that is worth the price you are asking. I don't care what you think it's worth, it matters what *we* think it's worth. It's the exact same problem as bad updates; your opinion is irrelevant, ours is literally the only one that matters.
This is me asking very nicely for you to realize you are on the wrong road, and fix it. In the mean time, I'll keep flying my vulture and waiting for the Vive to come out. The game itself is actually fun at the most basic level. It needs a LOT of work to be properly fun, but you have a good base. Just...improve upon that.
S
